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January 28, 2019

The Power of Onboarding

When Boomers shake their heads at all the things that Millennials and Gen Z don't understand or know, they should shoulder the blame for much of it. My generation has gone through its adult life simply assuming that those who follow us in the generational chain instinctively know what we know. They don't. We didn't. We were taught by our parents and mentors. So, why would we expect that some of the most basic tasks of life would magically be embued in our kids?

91 percent of employees remain with a company for at least a year (and 69 percent remain for at least three years) if a company has a well-structured onboarding program.

It's not that young professionals are flighty that makes them flight risks. It's that we failed to prepare them for our expectations and the importance of the job at hand.

Taking this a step further, are our Boards of Directors being effectively onboarded? Can they be the influencers in our community (for that is their most important role) if they are not immersed in the organization's history, culture and mission? When we shake our heads at their misplaced interest in directing programming, is it because we haven't shown them a higher calling?

Intentionality is a concept we hear more and more. Effective onboarding sounds like something about which we should be much more intentional.